PAKISTAN IN CRISIS
A third of the country was in floods, the same size as the U.K
With nearly a third of the country flooded, as large as the size of the UK, where's the story, what happened, and will Pakistan ever get the help they need?
PAKISTANI FLOODS DEVASTATE
WRITTEN BY SUNSHINE MIRZA
On August 30th 2023, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said the floods were the 'worst in the country's history', and for many onlookers, perhaps the worst flooding ever seen The full scale of the epidemic was not high on the news agenda, and media coverage of the catastrophe was as scarce as the aid provided for victims. Deluged in water, many are still trapped, are still in limbo, or have been deserted, as help is priority 'only' The scale of the disaster is of epic proportions, and despite it being one of the worst calamity's in history, the full scale of damage is not being surfaced, not even close
Despite being a relatively 'new country', and experiencing it's worst disaster to date, the full scale of the problem is being avoided. Press, news, radio and T.V offered meagre airtime and coverage, with no real detail about 'events', reflecting the assistance at the time, and later Many Pakistani's wanting to help, seemed clouded with confusion, as access for Pakistan seemed unreachable, especially if there was a language problem, with only Social Media for help. This is important for the Pakistani community, as the onus for help during such a time, is usually with the eldest within the family If important matriach and patriarch figures, can't speak or read English, assistance is hard. They usually take the first step, and donate, setting an example for the rest of the community.
Mobile Journalism on the other hand, was key Mobile camera video footage at the time, captured the real scale of devastation, and tumultuous disaster, with full mountains, bridges and roads being washed away by the floods. Google searches such as 'five horrific videos capture the horrors of Pakistan’s devastation', gave a clearer and more insightful picture than BBC NEWS, during the most crucial hours of the floods. Donating money, if you were non-English speaking was hard and almost unreachable, with only the DEC having a three buttoned easy access, helping people send money to help with the disaster
The DEC or Disaster’s Emergency Committee created an immediate appeal, helping curtail the crisis It overtook the appeal for help for the War in Ukraine, within hours, giving people quick and easy access to donate The online website had up to date and accurate details of the crisis, as news unfolded Convenient, and popular, the D E C website 'go for' a simple appeal to help raise funds, with options of £30, £50, £100 to help during the catastrophe, similar to donation amounts selected for other natural disasters such as the Tsunami appeal in Sumatra, Indonesia on 26th December 2004 The money was matched by the UK govt, with a stop at the 5 million pound mark. As each pound was donated, the UK through GIFT AID, added another pound. The website (D E C) cited food, clean drinking water and shelter as immediate priorities, and also surfaced the importance of urgent medical assistance and aid needed
As Pakistan faced on the worst floods in their history, many people are asking about Water Poverty in Pakistan Pakistan is a young country, and has been independent since the 1950’s As decades pass, the poverty the country faces seem only to be getting worse.
Describing Pakistan’s poverty in a nutshell is not an easy task, with many types of ‘complicated categories’ to describe the epidemic the country faces. These complications are indicative of the confusion and ‘corruption’ many face living within Pakistan, or those looking through a microscope, set with the task of alleviating a crisis ‘small or big’ in Pakistan To put it bluntly, at least 73% of the country is earning or living on less than $2.00 a day, tangled in webs which can’t be cut loose
As Pakistan faced the worst disaster in their young history, onlookers saw at least a third of the country face severe flooding. The country was drowned in flood water, as expansive as the size of the U K With a million killed instantly, and over 6 million homes being destroyed in September 2022 33 million people were said to be in need of desperate help, as their homes and houses, faced damage or were destroyed completely, by the floods. 2 million acres of crops and farming areas, were also destroyed during the Pakistani Floods, and an estimated 700,00+ livestock had been destroyed
As the D E C highlighted the importance of priority at the time, they set the tone of what they wanted to achieve as an organisation. This pecking order however, was not an example others followed, with media coverage and emergency aid being scarce, not covering the full scale of disaster and destruction, with only social media and mobile journalism covering the full picture of the calamity Pakistan faced, such as entire buildings, bridges and areas being destroyed
In Pakistan, recent stats suggest that drinking water quality is poorly managed and monitored. Pakistan ranks at number 80 among 122 nations regarding drinking water quality. Drinking water sources, both surface and groundwater are contaminated with coliforms, toxic metals and pesticides throughout the country In terms of water management, water poverty, Water Quality Assessment and Management?
Pakistan agrees, that ‘access to safe drinking water is the basic human right Pakistan Vision 2025 and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) 2030 impose obligations on Pakistan towards achieving its water and sanitation goals Drinking water is also placed on priority No. 1 in the approved National Water Policy 2018.
